Following changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, auction clearance rates have decreased around the country. Real estate experts see this as good news for first-home buyers as property sentiment wanes.
Auction clearance rates have decreased around the country following changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax . Negative sentiment around the property sector has started to make its way into the marketplace since the federal budget, but real estate experts say it may prove to be good news for first-home buyers .
Changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax were announced earlier this month, coinciding with auction rates nationwide dropping to around 50 per cent. Tim Lawless said the property market was already cooling before budget night. Before May 12, auction clearance rates were trending downward nationally, with the week-on-week reduction consistent with the seasonal pattern typical for this time of year.
"I think this is probably just amplifying what was already a weakening trend in the market before budget night," Mr Lawless said. In Brisbane, house prices have continued to rise, but not as rapidly as they were towards the end of 2025, Mr Lawless said.
"So we have seen the rate of growth in housing values now slipping down to the low 1 per cent range, in November or October last year, values rising at nearly 2 per cent month on month," he said. The high prices around Brisbane have made purchasing challenging for buyers like Megan Herring, who was the highest bidder at an auction in Yarrabilba on Saturday.
"This is the first auction I've been to ... the other houses that I've looked at, I was immediately priced out by just what the reserve price was. "On the week ending May 10, before the budget, Brisbane's week-to-week auction clearance rates went from 46.6 per cent to 54.4 per cent. Nationally, clearance rates dropped from 56.5 per cent last week to 51.7 per cent this week.
Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth all saw slight increases in clearance, however across the country, rates are down compared to this time last year.
"The change in sentiment really has come down to a hat-trick of interest rate rises the budget that was released last week certainly didn't add too much confidence to the buyers that we are already meeting," Mr Gunness said. "It's far less appealing for most investors to get out there and purchase now," he said.
"So our fear is that we will see the investment pool start to shrink, that we'll see rental properties become more scarce, less readily available, certainly in areas that have already been built up and developed. He said the changes also impacted the borrowing capacity of investors.
"That is starting to seep through on the front lines. We're seeing investors be capped at levels where previously they would have thought that was an absolutely amazing buy," he said. Sales agent in Acacia Ridge, Umair Khan, said the change in clearance rates showed the market was normalising. He said now was a good time for first-home buyers to get into the market.
"There people who were planning their strategy on negative gearing and buying properties because of the negative gearing strategies," he said.
Auction Clearance Rates Property Sentiment Negative Gearing Capital Gains Tax First-Home Buyers First-Home Buyer Market
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